Rev. Fr. Stephen Reilly
Fr Stephen works as the full-time Co-ordinator of Spiritual and Pastoral Formation at the School of Education at the University of Glasgow.
He was born in Glasgow and grew up in Muirhead. He attended St Barbara’s Primary school in Muirhead, Blairs College, Aberdeen, and Our Lady’s High School in Cumbernauld. After school he went to the Scots College in Rome where he studied for seven years. He is still a regular visitor to Rome, mostly to visit the friends he made through the Scout movement in Santa Chiara parish, and his godson Giovanni.
Fr Stephen served as assistant priest in St Bride’s parish, Bothwell, from 1997-2003, and as chaplain to Cardinal Newman High School in Bellshill from 1998-2003. Highlights for the latter were the many school trips and pilgrimages to World Youth Day in Rome and Canada, Tossa de Mar, and a 100-mile walk across Spain, the Camino de Santiago. He returned and completed the whole Camino in 27 days from the French border in 2003.
In 2003 Fr Stephen moved to St Mary’s, Hamilton as assistant priest to Mgr Alec Devanny, then as administrator after Mgr Devanny’s sad death. He also took up a post of chaplain at Taylor HighS chool in New Stevenston, where he was frequently dragged to concerts by the 6th year pupils: Franz Ferdinand, The Zutons and The Fratellis to name but a few! Fr Stephen arrived in St Bernadette’s Motherwell in August 2005, moving just across the park from Hamilton. Fr Stephen left his post as chaplain at Taylor High in 2009 and became RE Adviser for Primary schools in the Diocese of Motherwell, and was part of the team which developed the new national RE syllabus for Scotland, This is Our Faith.
His interests include hillwalking and cycling, playing and watching football, travelling and practicing languages, reading, cinema, playing guitar, and live music.
Fr Stephen left St Columbkille’s to be resident in the Cathedral in Motherwell at the start of July 2021.